Fic: Head over Feet
Title: Head over Feet
Fandom: Iron Man
Characters: Tony/Pepper
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,603
Author's Note 1: Written for the cliche challenge at its_always_been .
Author's Note 2: Okay, this is really different from anything I've ever written before. It's a highschool!AU. I've never written an AU before, so we'll see how this works out.
“Mr. Stark, since you deem it appropriate to sleep in my class, would you care to put your work for number 23 on the board?”
Tony raises his head off the desk and rubs his eyes. “Yes, I would care.” He mutters, rising from his seat and making his way to the blackboard at the front of the class. Mrs. Gregory gives him one of her signature glares, but says nothing at his retort.
Although he hasn’t done any of his homework (ever), he has no problem solving the problem on the board. After all, what’s a simple Calculus problem for a prodigy such as himself? Tony solves the equation quickly, returns to his seat, and rests his head on his desk once again.
As soon as he’s closed his eyes, a clear voice sounds from the other side of the classroom. “Mrs. Gregory, that’s not correct.” The entire class turns to stare at her, the girl who dares to prove Tony Stark wrong. She reddens visibly under their gaze, skin turning a shade deep enough to match her red hair. “X would equal -3, not 3, since you’re dividing by a negative number.”
By now, the class is murmuring, astounded that anyone would try to contradict a genius, the son of the most famous engineer of their time. Tony himself props himself up on an elbow, rechecking his work on the board. He shrugs. “Nice catch.” He says, laying his head back down.
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“Hey,” she says, reddish curls bouncing lightly as she comes to a stop in front of his table. “Is it okay if I sit here?”
Tony gives her a once-over and raises an eyebrow. “Aren’t you the girl that corrected my math last week?”
She blushes, the same as she did last Tuesday, the reddish tint coloring her fair skin. Tony wonders if the blushing is a common thing with her. It must be, with skin like that. “Yeah. That was me.”
Tony chuckles. “Well go ahead. Sit down.”
She complies, setting her tray down with a clatter onto the cheap table. “I’m Virginia.” She says.
“Tony.” He takes another bite of his ham sandwich. “Do you always put that much pepper on everything?”
“What?” she looks up from her salad, which she has covered with the black spice. “Oh. I only put this much on school food. It has no taste, without it.”
“Hmm, I see.” He smirks. “What did you say your name was?”
“Virginia.”
“Virginia. Can I call you Pepper?”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Working on Calculus?” He says, flashing her a knowing smile.
“Yeah. Or at least trying to. I’ve got a test tomorrow and I still have no idea what to do here.”
Tony takes a seat at the desk in front of Pepper, flipping around so he is straddling the chair. “Well, you’ve got everything right, except this one part here.” He points to a spot on her paper. “You’re trying to solve this using the power rule, but that won’t work, because this is an exponential function. So you have to use the formula for the derivative of an exponential function, here.” He sets his arm back down onto the desk, allowing it to rest gently beside hers, just barely touching.
“Ohhh! That makes sense. Thanks.” She looks up at him, returning his smile, and leaning closer to him. “I know you probably hear this a lot, but you’re really good at math. You should join Math Club. We need someone like you on the team.”
“Oh, I see how it is. You’re just trying to recruit me.” He grins.
Pepper laughs, the movement reverberating throughout her body so that Tony can feel it through where their arms are touching atop the desk. “Well, yeah. But you are nice to talk to. I wouldn’t mind having someone like you around for those boring meetings. You would keep it interesting.”
“You bet I would.” Tony says, nudging her playfully. He falls silent for a bit, a thoughtful expression on his face. “You know, I think I’ll have some extra time this fall. Do the Mathletes have room for one more?”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The dirty, hideously-colored hallways are buzzing, alive and bursting with students. Tony threads his way through the crowd, searching desperately for her. It’s Friday, his last chance to see her before the weekend. He’s spent all day building himself up for this that it’d be a waste not to follow through with it now. He breathes deeply, trying to calm himself.
He chuckles internally at his anxiety. It’s not like he’s never talked to a girl before- no, he’s done this hundreds of times, with almost the entire female population at Long Island Academy- it’s just that with Pepper, it’s different. For the first time, he really doesn’t want to mess this up.
Tony finally catches a glimpse of fair, freckled skin and strawberry blond hair. “Pepper!” He calls, voice nearly lost in the chaos of the hallway. “Hey, Pepper!” She finally hears him, turns around, and waits patiently for him to catch up to her. “Hey,” he says again. “I wanted to see if you’re doing anything this weekend.”
Pepper looks at him suspiciously. “Why?”
“I thought we might be able to catch a movie or something. I hear Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is playing at the Grand Avenue Theater. Rhodey says it’s pretty good.” He’s confused to see that she looks… disappointed.
“I don’t know, Tony.” She looks away from him, staring at the students passing by, the whitewashed concrete walls, the endless rows of lockers, anything but him.
“Pepper, what’s up?” When she doesn’t respond, he takes hold of her face and turns her to face him. “Pepper, what’s up?” He repeats.
She still says nothing, and they stare at each other for what seems like hours before he moves closer, cautiously, and presses a soft kiss to her lips. He pulls back quickly, not wanting to push her too far.
But this time, it’s Pepper that’s leaning in and capturing his lips with hers in a passionate and surprisingly skilled kiss. The crowd parts around the pair, mumbling and shouting and complaining about the traffic jam they’ve caused in the overcrowded hallway.
When they finally pull away, the intensity in Pepper’s gaze both terrifies and exhilarates him. “I don’t want to be one of them.” She says, gesturing to the girls passing by, platinum blonds wearing way too much makeup. Tony knows that she’s referring to his tendency to use girls, never staying with one for very long.
“You won’t be,” he says, returning her gaze with all the intensity he can muster. “I promise you, Pepper.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Now you better take care of my daughter.” The man says sternly.
“I will, Mr. Potts. I promise I’ll have her home by 9, as always.” Tony replies, and Pepper swears she has never seen him this serious before.
Pepper’s father smiles. “That’s what I like to hear.” He takes a step back and faces the pair of them. “You two have fun.”
“We will, Dad. See you later.”
Mr. Potts sees them out the front door, and they walk to Tony’s car, holding hands all the while. “You look beautiful tonight.” Tony says, leaning over to whisper in her ear.
Pepper kisses his temple, allowing her lips to stay on his skin a bit longer than necessary. “Thank you.”
They reach his car, a 1969 Shelby Cobra, top-of-the-line, given to him as a gift from his parents for his 16th birthday. It’d been in bad shape when he’d received it, but that was the point. Tony had spent nearly a month fixing it up with his father before it was ready for the road. He talks about the memory often, but Pepper doesn’t mind. She knows it’s one of the few connections he’s ever had with his father, with him so busy working and all.
He opens her door for her, working hard to be gentlemanly, even though Pepper has told him that he doesn’t have to do that. On the seat is a little stuffed penguin, a note tied to his foot with a piece of blue silk ribbon. She unties it, unfolds the piece of paper, and there, written in Tony’s own messy script-
Pepper-
Will you go to prom with me?
“I was just thinking, since we’ve been hanging out a lot lately, and you’re basically my girlfriend, that maybe we could-“ Pepper silences his babbling with a kiss. “Yes,” she says, “Yes, Tony, I would love to go to prom with you.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Everyone thinks we’re doing it.”
Tony looks up from the intricate circuit board for a robot he’s currently working on. “’Doing it’?”
Pepper stares at him in disbelief for a second before answering. “Having sex.”
He smirks. “Is that a bad thing?”
Pepper’s gaze is steady, but Tony can see the hint of a smile on the corners of her mouth. “I do have a reputation to uphold.”
Tony’s grin widens. “So do I.”
“As what, the man-whore of the school?”
He flinches at her words. “Fair enough.” His voice lowers as he looks deep into her eyes. “But that was before I met you.” Pepper smiles, her heart melting in her chest. And before she can stop herself, before she even realizes what she’s doing, she says it.
“I love you.” She’s surprised to hear the words coming out of her mouth, and she’s surprised at how right it feels to be saying them.
Tony just grins, pulling her into an embrace. “I love you too.” He whispers back.
Fandom: Iron Man
Characters: Tony/Pepper
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,603
Author's Note 1: Written for the cliche challenge at its_always_been .
Author's Note 2: Okay, this is really different from anything I've ever written before. It's a highschool!AU. I've never written an AU before, so we'll see how this works out.
“Mr. Stark, since you deem it appropriate to sleep in my class, would you care to put your work for number 23 on the board?”
Tony raises his head off the desk and rubs his eyes. “Yes, I would care.” He mutters, rising from his seat and making his way to the blackboard at the front of the class. Mrs. Gregory gives him one of her signature glares, but says nothing at his retort.
Although he hasn’t done any of his homework (ever), he has no problem solving the problem on the board. After all, what’s a simple Calculus problem for a prodigy such as himself? Tony solves the equation quickly, returns to his seat, and rests his head on his desk once again.
As soon as he’s closed his eyes, a clear voice sounds from the other side of the classroom. “Mrs. Gregory, that’s not correct.” The entire class turns to stare at her, the girl who dares to prove Tony Stark wrong. She reddens visibly under their gaze, skin turning a shade deep enough to match her red hair. “X would equal -3, not 3, since you’re dividing by a negative number.”
By now, the class is murmuring, astounded that anyone would try to contradict a genius, the son of the most famous engineer of their time. Tony himself props himself up on an elbow, rechecking his work on the board. He shrugs. “Nice catch.” He says, laying his head back down.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Hey,” she says, reddish curls bouncing lightly as she comes to a stop in front of his table. “Is it okay if I sit here?”
Tony gives her a once-over and raises an eyebrow. “Aren’t you the girl that corrected my math last week?”
She blushes, the same as she did last Tuesday, the reddish tint coloring her fair skin. Tony wonders if the blushing is a common thing with her. It must be, with skin like that. “Yeah. That was me.”
Tony chuckles. “Well go ahead. Sit down.”
She complies, setting her tray down with a clatter onto the cheap table. “I’m Virginia.” She says.
“Tony.” He takes another bite of his ham sandwich. “Do you always put that much pepper on everything?”
“What?” she looks up from her salad, which she has covered with the black spice. “Oh. I only put this much on school food. It has no taste, without it.”
“Hmm, I see.” He smirks. “What did you say your name was?”
“Virginia.”
“Virginia. Can I call you Pepper?”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Working on Calculus?” He says, flashing her a knowing smile.
“Yeah. Or at least trying to. I’ve got a test tomorrow and I still have no idea what to do here.”
Tony takes a seat at the desk in front of Pepper, flipping around so he is straddling the chair. “Well, you’ve got everything right, except this one part here.” He points to a spot on her paper. “You’re trying to solve this using the power rule, but that won’t work, because this is an exponential function. So you have to use the formula for the derivative of an exponential function, here.” He sets his arm back down onto the desk, allowing it to rest gently beside hers, just barely touching.
“Ohhh! That makes sense. Thanks.” She looks up at him, returning his smile, and leaning closer to him. “I know you probably hear this a lot, but you’re really good at math. You should join Math Club. We need someone like you on the team.”
“Oh, I see how it is. You’re just trying to recruit me.” He grins.
Pepper laughs, the movement reverberating throughout her body so that Tony can feel it through where their arms are touching atop the desk. “Well, yeah. But you are nice to talk to. I wouldn’t mind having someone like you around for those boring meetings. You would keep it interesting.”
“You bet I would.” Tony says, nudging her playfully. He falls silent for a bit, a thoughtful expression on his face. “You know, I think I’ll have some extra time this fall. Do the Mathletes have room for one more?”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The dirty, hideously-colored hallways are buzzing, alive and bursting with students. Tony threads his way through the crowd, searching desperately for her. It’s Friday, his last chance to see her before the weekend. He’s spent all day building himself up for this that it’d be a waste not to follow through with it now. He breathes deeply, trying to calm himself.
He chuckles internally at his anxiety. It’s not like he’s never talked to a girl before- no, he’s done this hundreds of times, with almost the entire female population at Long Island Academy- it’s just that with Pepper, it’s different. For the first time, he really doesn’t want to mess this up.
Tony finally catches a glimpse of fair, freckled skin and strawberry blond hair. “Pepper!” He calls, voice nearly lost in the chaos of the hallway. “Hey, Pepper!” She finally hears him, turns around, and waits patiently for him to catch up to her. “Hey,” he says again. “I wanted to see if you’re doing anything this weekend.”
Pepper looks at him suspiciously. “Why?”
“I thought we might be able to catch a movie or something. I hear Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is playing at the Grand Avenue Theater. Rhodey says it’s pretty good.” He’s confused to see that she looks… disappointed.
“I don’t know, Tony.” She looks away from him, staring at the students passing by, the whitewashed concrete walls, the endless rows of lockers, anything but him.
“Pepper, what’s up?” When she doesn’t respond, he takes hold of her face and turns her to face him. “Pepper, what’s up?” He repeats.
She still says nothing, and they stare at each other for what seems like hours before he moves closer, cautiously, and presses a soft kiss to her lips. He pulls back quickly, not wanting to push her too far.
But this time, it’s Pepper that’s leaning in and capturing his lips with hers in a passionate and surprisingly skilled kiss. The crowd parts around the pair, mumbling and shouting and complaining about the traffic jam they’ve caused in the overcrowded hallway.
When they finally pull away, the intensity in Pepper’s gaze both terrifies and exhilarates him. “I don’t want to be one of them.” She says, gesturing to the girls passing by, platinum blonds wearing way too much makeup. Tony knows that she’s referring to his tendency to use girls, never staying with one for very long.
“You won’t be,” he says, returning her gaze with all the intensity he can muster. “I promise you, Pepper.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Now you better take care of my daughter.” The man says sternly.
“I will, Mr. Potts. I promise I’ll have her home by 9, as always.” Tony replies, and Pepper swears she has never seen him this serious before.
Pepper’s father smiles. “That’s what I like to hear.” He takes a step back and faces the pair of them. “You two have fun.”
“We will, Dad. See you later.”
Mr. Potts sees them out the front door, and they walk to Tony’s car, holding hands all the while. “You look beautiful tonight.” Tony says, leaning over to whisper in her ear.
Pepper kisses his temple, allowing her lips to stay on his skin a bit longer than necessary. “Thank you.”
They reach his car, a 1969 Shelby Cobra, top-of-the-line, given to him as a gift from his parents for his 16th birthday. It’d been in bad shape when he’d received it, but that was the point. Tony had spent nearly a month fixing it up with his father before it was ready for the road. He talks about the memory often, but Pepper doesn’t mind. She knows it’s one of the few connections he’s ever had with his father, with him so busy working and all.
He opens her door for her, working hard to be gentlemanly, even though Pepper has told him that he doesn’t have to do that. On the seat is a little stuffed penguin, a note tied to his foot with a piece of blue silk ribbon. She unties it, unfolds the piece of paper, and there, written in Tony’s own messy script-
Pepper-
Will you go to prom with me?
“I was just thinking, since we’ve been hanging out a lot lately, and you’re basically my girlfriend, that maybe we could-“ Pepper silences his babbling with a kiss. “Yes,” she says, “Yes, Tony, I would love to go to prom with you.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Everyone thinks we’re doing it.”
Tony looks up from the intricate circuit board for a robot he’s currently working on. “’Doing it’?”
Pepper stares at him in disbelief for a second before answering. “Having sex.”
He smirks. “Is that a bad thing?”
Pepper’s gaze is steady, but Tony can see the hint of a smile on the corners of her mouth. “I do have a reputation to uphold.”
Tony’s grin widens. “So do I.”
“As what, the man-whore of the school?”
He flinches at her words. “Fair enough.” His voice lowers as he looks deep into her eyes. “But that was before I met you.” Pepper smiles, her heart melting in her chest. And before she can stop herself, before she even realizes what she’s doing, she says it.
“I love you.” She’s surprised to hear the words coming out of her mouth, and she’s surprised at how right it feels to be saying them.
Tony just grins, pulling her into an embrace. “I love you too.” He whispers back.